The text
Sec. 20-76. - Notice.#
(a)
Announcement. The town administrator shall prepare official announcements for open competitive and promotional examinations which shall include the following information:
(1)
The title, salary range and a brief statement of the duties to be performed in the class to be examined.
(2)
The opening and closing date of the application period and places where applications may be obtained.
(3)
The relative weights assigned to the various phases of the examination.
(4)
The minimum required final earned rating.
(5)
The requirements as to residence and citizenship.
(b)
Publication. The official announcement of all examinations shall be posted in the town hall, published in at least one weekly newspaper published in the state, and may be forwarded for publication to other daily newspapers published in the state.
(Code 1972, § 15-31)
Sec. 20-77. - Application.#
(a)
All applications for examinations shall be made on forms prescribed by the town administrator and shall constitute an integral part of every examination. On such forms the town administrator may require information as to the education, training and experience of the applicant and such other information as he may deem pertinent. The town administrator may require any applicant for any examination to submit documented proof of the possession of any license, certificate, degree or other qualification claimed or required by law or these rules and may refuse credit for such claimed or required qualification in the absence of such proof.
(b)
Claims made by applicants relative to citizenship, residence, preference as a war veteran or disabled war veteran, age, education, experience or other evidence of eligibility or qualification shall be subject to verification, by authentic proof thereof, under such regulations as the town administrator may prescribe, and credit for such claims may be denied in the absence of such proof.
(c)
No application may be accepted after the close of the announced filing period, except that the town administrator may order the acceptance of any application or information supplementary thereto received after the close of such period and at least seven calendar days prior to the administration of the first phase of the examination. This period shall be called the grace period.
(Code 1972, § 15-32)
Sec. 20-78. - Disqualification of applicants.#
(a)
The town administrator may deny admission to examination to any applicant, if the information contained in such application conclusively shows that the applicant has failed to present evidence that he possesses sufficient qualifications to warrant examination, as set forth in the specifications for the class of positions.
(b)
Information as to education and experience as submitted in such application and subject to verification as provided in section 20-77 shall be the major factor upon which the town administrator may reject or accept the application of any applicant for admission to examination.
(c)
After an application has been filed, and the grace period has ended, no supplementary statement, explanation or additional claim of qualification may be accepted or considered in any appeal from denial of admission to the examination or from any examination ratings, except that the town administrator may request from the applicant or any other source such information as he deems necessary to clarify or verify statements on claims appearing in the original application and may accept all of such information or such part as he deems appropriate as part of the original application. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted, however, to require the town administrator to request such information, nor shall his failure to do so constitute a grievance in any instance.
(d)
The town administrator may reject the application of any person for admission to an examination, may refuse to examine an applicant; or, after examination, may remove his name from the employment list, or may refuse to certify for appointment; or, following certification, may withdraw the certification of any eligible:
(1)
Who is physically or mentally so disabled as to be incapable of proper performance of the required duties;
(2)
Who is addicted to the use of narcotics or excessive use of intoxicating liquors;
(3)
Who has been found guilty of any infamous or notoriously disgraceful conduct;
(4)
Who has been dismissed from the state service for delinquency, misconduct or other similar cause;
(5)
Who has made false statement of material fact in his application;
(6)
Whose conduct during an examination is deemed to be improper; or
(7)
Who has otherwise violated this chapter.
(e)
Any person who feels aggrieved by a decision of the town administrator under this section may appeal to the personnel board.
(Code 1972, § 15-33)
Sec. 20-79. - Conduct.#
(a)
Policy statement. Appointing authorities or their duly authorized representatives shall be granted, at their request, the privilege of reviewing proposed examination material, to ensure a proper relationship between the examination and the positions to be covered by the resulting lists, except when such examinations are standardized printed examinations mailed sealed from authorized agencies.
(b)
The personnel board shall make all reasonable effort to preserve the anonymity of candidates. The use of identification numbers instead of names on all test papers shall be required.
(c)
When an employment or promotional list is established, each candidate shall be notified by mail of his relative position on the employment or promotional list or his failure to attain a place on such list.
(d)
If the personnel board is of the opinion that the conditions under which any examination was held were not such as to be fair to the candidates, it may order that the completed examination or any part thereof be cancelled and that a new examination be held.
(e)
Whenever two or more competitors have qualified earned ratings, their names shall be arranged on employment or promotional lists in the order of their performances in the written tests; provided, however, that when such arrangement fails to resolve a tie, the order on the lists shall be the same as the order in which their applications were time-stamped or by seniority within the town service. Where practical, determination by seniority shall have preference.
(f)
A manifest error in any examination, if called to the attention of the personnel board within ten calendar days after the establishment of a list resulting from such examination, shall be corrected by it. Persons affected by such correction shall be notified by mail.
(Code 1972, § 15-34)
Sec. 20-80. - Review.#
Any examinee, or his authorized representative, shall be permitted to review the test papers of such examinee, and the score assigned thereto, under the following conditions: (1)
All phases of the examination must have been completed and the lists established therefrom.
(2)
Written request for such review must be made to the personnel board by the examinee or his authorized representative within five calendar days after the mailing of the official notice of examination results of the examination to him by the personnel board or town administrator.
(3)
Such review shall be permitted only in the office of the town administrator, during business hours, in the presence of a person designated by the town administrator to assist in the review and to safeguard official records from addition, deletion or other alteration.
(Code 1972, § 15-35)
Sec. 20-81. - Appeal from results.#
(a)
Within five calendar days after the review of an examination, as provided for in section 20-80, or within ten calendar days after the mailing of the results of the examination to the examinee by the personnel board, whichever date is later, an examinee who considers himself aggrieved by such results may file with the personnel board an appeal from the score assigned him in such examination and be heard at reasonable length thereon. Such appeal shall be in writing and shall include a detailed statement of the items of the examination to which exception is taken by such examinee. The personnel board shall render its decision within five days after the conclusion of such hearing.
(b)
Any changes in lists resulting from the procedures outlined in subsection (a) of this section or following sections shall not invalidate any certification or appointment previously made from such lists.
(Code 1972, § 15-36)
Sec. 20-82. - Promotional examination.#
(a)
Eligibility requirements. Promotional examinations shall be conducted in the same manner as open competitive examinations, subject to the following conditions: A person is eligible for promotional examination if he satisfies all the following requirements on the closing date for filing applications in the official announcement of the examination:
(1)
He must hold a position in the town service.
(2)
He must meet the minimum requirements established for the examination.
(3)
He must hold or within three years have held permanent status in the town service.
(4)
His service ratings must be considered.
(b)
Basis. Whenever the personnel board shall deem the best interests of the town to be served thereby, it may conduct promotional examinations on a divisional or departmental basis, in which case admission to such examinations shall be restricted to candidates who meet the require ments of subsection (a) of this section and whose employment requirements shall be met through service in the departments designated in the announcement.
(c)
Promotion to chief of police. Promotions to chief of police shall be made upon the following basis:
(1)
In order to be eligible for promotion to the grade of chief of police, the candidate for promotion shall be a police officer with at least three years' experience above the rank of patrol officer in any organized police department.
(2)
Applicants must take a written examination furnished by a testing concern outside the state. Such examination shall be obtained by, conducted by, and scored by the personnel board of the town. Points for the written examination will be apportioned so that out of the total possible score, no more than 60 points may be obtained on a written examination.
(3)
Each applicant shall be evaluated by the director of public safety. These evaluations shall be submitted to the personnel board prior to the conduct of the written examination and must be in the form of a numerical quantity not to exceed a value of 30 points.
(4)
Points shall be awarded on the basis of experience in any organized police department at the rate of two points for each year of experience and counted toward the total score of the applicant. However, in no event shall experience credits be accumulated to more than ten points.
(5)
The personnel board shall total the points from the written examination, evaluation and experience to compute the final grading and certify the names and scores of applicants. The personnel board shall prepare a listing of applicant's names and scores and provide this list to the director of public safety who shall select for promotion from the three applicants receiving the highest scores. Promotion of the applicant shall be made by the director of public safety within 30 days of the certification of scores. Examination of scores and standing of each applicant shall be provided to the applicant requesting his score, but scores and standing shall not be open to the general public.
(6)
The personnel board shall maintain the list of applicants' names and scores for a period not to exceed one year from the date on which it was originally established; at the expiration of the year a new examination must be given and a new certified list established for future promotions.
(d)
Promotion to fire chief. Promotions to fire chief shall be made upon the following basis:
(1)
Qualifications. In order to be eligible for promotion to the grade of fire chief, the candidate shall:
a.
Be a member of the town fire department; and
b.
Have at least three years' active experience in the field of firefighting and fire prevention.
(2)
Application scoring system. Upon meeting the threshold qualifications listed in subsection (1) above, an applicant shall then be evaluated on the basis of a 100-point scale, with the availability of points as follows: written examination (60 points), experience (20 points), interview with the town administrator (20 points).
a.
Examination. Applicant must take a written examination furnished by a testing concern outside the state. Such examination shall be obtained by, conducted by, and scored by the personnel board of the town. Points for the written examination will be apportioned so that out of the total possible score, no more than 60 points may be obtained on a written examination.
b.
Experience. Points shall be awarded on the basis of experience in the town fire department at the rate of two points for each year of experience and counted toward the total score of the applicant. No more than 20 points may be awarded on the basis of experience.
c.
Interview. Each applicant shall be evaluated by the town administrator and these evaluations shall then be submitted to the personnel board. No more than 20 points may be awarded on the basis of performance in the interview.
(3)
Final selection. The personnel board shall total the points from the written examination, evaluation, and experience to compute the final grading and certify the names and scores of the applicants. The personnel board shall prepare a listing of applicants' names and scores and provide this list to the town administrator. The town administrator shall interview the applicants receiving the three highest scores a second time. From this group the town administrator shall select a new fire chief. Promotion of the applicant shall be made by the town administrator within 30 days of the certification of scores. Examination of scores and standing of each applicant shall be provided to the applicant requesting his/her score, but scores and standing shall not be open to the general public.
(4)
The personnel board shall maintain the list of applicants' names and scores for a period not to exceed one year from the date on which it was originally established; at the expiration of the year, a new examination must be given and a new certified list established for future promotions.
(e)
Promotions to sergeant. Promotions to sergeant shall be made upon the following basis:
(1)
In order to be eligible for promotion to the grade of sergeant, the applicant must have five years of continuous service as a patrol officer, including his probationary period. Promotions to office in ranks above the rank of sergeant shall be open to all officers in the grade next below the grade in which the vacancy exists, with the exception to the chief of police.
(2)
Applicants must be high school graduates or possess a high school equivalency certificate before becoming eligible for promotion to sergeant.
(3)
Applicants must take a written examination from a qualified testing company engaged by the town personnel board and scored by the testing company or the personnel board. Such examination shall be obtained, conducted and scored by the personnel board of the town. The points for the written examination will be apportioned so that out of the total possible score, no more than 60 points may be obtained on a written examination.
(4)
Applicants shall be evaluated by the chief of police of the town police department and the points for this evaluation shall be apportioned so that no more than 15 points of the total possible score may be obtained.
(5)
Points shall be awarded on the basis of seniority in the town police department on a basis of two points for each year in the department and counted toward the total scores of the applicant. However, in no event shall seniority credits be accumulated to more than 15 points.
(6)
The personnel board shall total the points from the written examination, evaluation and seniority to compute the final grading and certify the names and scores of the applicants to the town administrator/director of public safety who shall select for promotion from the three officers receiving the highest score. Promotion of the officer shall be made by the town administrator/director of public safety within 30 days of the certification of scores. Examination of scores and standings of each candidate shall be provided to the candidate requesting his score.
(Code 1972, § 15-37; Ord. No. 2005-11, 3-16-05; Ord. No. 2006-34, 10-25-06; Ord. No. 2007-07, 2-28-07; Ord. No. 2020-05, 9-9-20)
Sec. 20-83. - Compliance with federal standards.#
The following provisions are adopted to provide for compliance with the federal standards for a merit system of personnel administration by those agencies receiving grants-in-aid under federal statutes which require application of personnel standards on a merit basis: To the maximum extent possible, lists of eligibles established through open competition will be maintained for those classes where vacancies can be anticipated. Since it may not be possible to fill all vacancies from such lists, the appointing authority will determine, as of June 30 and December 31 each year, the classes in which temporary employees are serving in the federally grant-aided agencies subject to the federal merit system standards. He will conduct an examination during the six-month period following this determination for each such class for which an examination had not been held during the six-month period preceding the date the determination was made.
(Code 1972, § 15-38)